UDS VC Position: Dagbon Zaachi Youth Association Commends the Selection Process so far

Published by Inusah Dondaliya

13th March 2026

Dagbon Zaachi Youth Association has expressed confidence in the Search committee tasked to select a new Vice Chancellor for University for Development Studies, commending the selection process so far.

The Youth Association noted that as key Stakeholders in Dagbon with Traditional authority, they have keen interest in the leadership of the UDS vis-a-vis who takes the mantle after Prof Alhassan Seidu’s tenure for future direction of the University.

In a press statement signed by the Secretary of the Youth Group, Andani Yakubu, stated that the University serves critical role in the growth and development of deprived communities in the Northern part of this country through its training programs, capacity building, academic excellence, and building of human resource across board for community service and development.

Against this backdrop, the group holds a conviction that the process of selecting the next VC should reflect expectations and objective needs of the people.

“The University for Development Studies is one of the most important academic institutions in the northern part of the country with a unique mandate to serve as a catalyst for development within deprived communities of Northern Ghana and beyond.Consequently, the process for selecting its leadership must reflect these objectives to meet the needs of the people it serves”.

Meanwhile, the statement also acknowledged the successes chalked by the current VC, applauding his tremendous achievements and imploring the Search Committee to appoint someone with similar qualities to consolidate the gains, adding that the successor must be someone earning support from all stakeholders in Dagbon including traditional authorities, religious community, and persons in academia.

Ghananewsnet.com have gathered that about ten candidates are vying for the VC position at the University for Development Students. They include, Prof. Abdulai Abubakari, Prof. Felix Kofi Abagali, Prof. Elliot ALHASSAN, Prof. Ibrahim Yakubu Seini, Prof. Mohammed Muniru Iddrisu, ⁠Prof. Abdul RAHAMAN Bin Iddrisu,Prof. Paul Kwame Nkegbe, ⁠Prof. Terry Ansah, ⁠Prof. Nafiu Amidu and
Prof. Abdulai Abubakari.

Information available to Ghananewsnet.com indicates that among the Candidates jostling for the VC position, Prof. Abdulai Abubakari is not only the Frontrunner but a leading candidate with requisite credentials such as credibility, competence, experience and long service and Institutional Memory capable to occupy the office. Above all, he is the only diligent aluminum qualified for the position.

Professor Abdulai Abubakari is a senior public health scholar and university administrator with nearly two decades of progressive leadership at the University for Development Studies (UDS). His leadership spans academic governance, institutional quality assurance, programme accreditation, and policy-driven university reform.

He has played a central role in
strengthening UDS’s regulatory compliance with GTEC, expanding professional and
postgraduate programmes, and stabilising academic systems across campuses. His vision aligns strongly with UDS’s mandate as development-focused,community-embedded, and globally connected university, with particular strengths in applied research, decentralised education, and North–South academic partnerships.